Philip Akin is a Canadian actor who has been active in the entertainment industry for over thirty years, with a diverse range of roles in stage, film, and television productions.
Born on April 18, 1950, in Kingston, Jamaica, Akin is the middle brother of five sons. His family moved to Oshawa, Ontario, Canada in 1953, and he followed suit the next year, making Oshawa his hometown.
Akin attended Toronto's Ryerson Theatre School, where he became the school's first acting graduate in 1975. He landed a role in a Shaw Festival production of Caesar and Cleopatra just a few days after graduating, marking the beginning of his professional acting career.
In addition to his acting work, Akin is also a martial arts practitioner. He began studying Yoshinkan Aikido in 1983 and has since earned a 5th degree black belt in the art. He has also trained in Jing Mo Kung Fu and Tai Chi Chuan.
Akin gained prominence in the early 1980s with his role on the comedy series Bizarre. He has since appeared in a number of notable productions, including War of the Worlds, Highlander: The Series, and Shake Hands with the Devil, in which he portrayed Kofi Annan, then United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations.
In 2007, Akin performed at the Stratford Festival of Canada, a prestigious summer-long celebration of theatre held annually in Stratford, Ontario. He played the title role of Othello and the role of Crooks in the Festival's rendition of John Steinbeck's novella Of Mice and Men.
Akin has also made numerous guest appearances on television series filmed in Canada, including F/X: The Series, Mutant X, and Flashpoint.
In addition to his acting work, Akin is a founding member and Artistic Director of the Obsidian Theatre Company, a Canadian theatre company comprising seasoned actors of African descent, devoted to the work of black playwrights and actors.
Akin is divorced and has one child.
